FELLOWSHIP: Asia Fellows Awards 2008/2009

The Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation. Its office in Bangkok administers the ASIA Fellows Awards in the region with assistance from partner offices in Beijing, New Delhi, Manila, Hanoi, and Jakarta.

The ASF Board Management Committee is composed of twelve educational and public leaders from the People’s Republic of China, South and Southeast Asia, and Australia. The Board Management Committee selects the fellows, oversees the program and makes policy decisions.

Goals and Objectives

The principal goal of the ASIA Fellows Awards is to increase the overall awareness of intellectual resources in the countries of Northeast, South and Southeast Asia and to contribute to the growth of long-range capabilities for cross-regional knowledge sharing. The ASIA Fellows Awards seek to develop regional expertise, establish a multilateral network of Asian specialists from many disciplines, professional fields and countries, stimulate interdisciplinary research and inter-societal comparison, and contribute to new developments within existing area studies communities.

The awards offer opportunities for outstanding young and mid-career Asian cholars, and professionals to gain knowledge of the countries in the egion and an understanding of the contexts that shape global and regional issues through research. They enable the awardees to conduct research in a articipating Asian country for six to nine months.

Master’s/Doctoral degree or equivalent professional training and xperiences (minimum of 3 years of university teaching experiences for cholars or 5 years of work experience for professionals.)

Applicants must be 45 years old or younger at the time of the application eadline. However, those up to 50 years old proposing to do research in the ield of Humanities may be given special consideration.

Proficiency in English or in the language of the host country appropriate o the proposed research project.

Those who are currently enrolled in a degree program, or have just ompleted a degree program for less than one to two years will not be ligible to apply. Those who were a recipient of a Ford Foundation fellowship grant within the last two years prior to the application is also ineligible.

Conditions of the awards

The proposed research projects for the ASIA Fellows Awards can be carried out in only one participating country (except the applicant’s own) and under the following conditions:

No applicant can propose to conduct their research in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Applicants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore cannot undertake research in each other’s countries. Applicants from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan can only apply to conduct their research in Thailand, the host country of ASF.

Any part of the proposed project that will be done in the applicant’s own country will not be funded under the ASIA Fellows Awards.

The proposed grant period must be between 6-9 months. Once awarded, a fellow is required to conduct research at the proposed host country throughout the grant period. Splitting of the grant period or conducting research in the applicant’s own country during the proposed grant period is not allowed under any circumstances.

While an applicant from South or Southeast Asia may propose a research project in a country within his/her own region, preference is given to applicants who propose to conduct research in a region of Asia other than their own (e.g., an award to an Indian scholar or professional for research in China).

Applicants should not plan to conduct their research in a country with which their home country has a difficult diplomatic relationship because of the uncertainties of securing an affiliation and obtaining a research clearance and visa for a long-term stay.

Fellowship awards are not for the purpose of completing requirements towards an academic degree (master’s thesis or doctoral dissertations).

Fellowship Activities

ASIA Fellows awardees are placed at top-ranking research universities and non-academic institutions such as museums, archives or think tanks. Fellows should identify preferred placements in host countries. They may engage in an organized field research in the host country. Fellows are strongly encouraged to undertake some language training in their host country as part of facilitating their research. They are also provided the opportunities to present guest lectures, or to conduct seminars and workshops at the invitation of the host institutions. After completion of their fellowship, fellows can apply for post-fellowship awards of three months to further their research in a country within Asia, or for short-term travel awards to make presentations at overseas conferences and meetings.

All fellows are required to attend the Orientation Program in July 2008, and the ASIA Fellows’ Annual Conference in July 2010 at which they present their research results to fellow awardees and to scholars from the country in which the conference is held. They are also required to start the award by the end of December 2008. At the end of the fellowship, fellows must submit to the ASF office in Bangkok evidence of the results of their research project in the form of publications, photos of artistic works, audio/video productions, etc.

Awards Benefits

*Travel Allowance: round-trip travel between home country and host country

*Maintenance Allowance: In-country living allowance to cover housing and other expenses. Note that no travel nor living allowance will be provided for dependents.

*Limited Accident and Health Insurance

*Field Trip/Language Training Allowance: for traveling within a host country, and a formal course on language training or with a private tutor in the host country

*Research Allowance: for research-related costs, computer purchase and internet connectivity to communicate with colleagues, other ASIA Fellows, and to access the Asian Scholarship Foundation website.

*Excess Baggage/Shipping Allowance

Selection Process

Regional review committees composed of leading scholars from participating countries and regions conduct an initial review of the applications. In mid-March, short-listed candidates are interviewed by the review committee for their region at meetings in Beijing, New Delhi, and Bangkok. (The Asian Scholarship Foundation covers the travel expenses of short-listed candidates.) The applications of recommended candidates are then forwarded to the multi-regional Board Management Committee which will make the final selection of ASIA Fellows Awards recipients by the end of May 2008.

Application Form

An application form can be downloaded from the website. It can also be requested via e-mail (see below ASF affiliate offices in the country or region of your citizenship).

Submitting the Application

Please send completed application materials to the ASF office or affiliate offices in the country or region of your citizenship:

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